Zach's Ultimatum
by mckee11223
Summary: Just days after the nuclear strike on New York City, Evos are already being found and taken. But what if the attack meant more than one Evo dead? What if it kickstarted everyone else's abilities? After the world being kept in the dark for so long, Zach will find the truth about his family, his friend, and his newfound power.


**Hey! Well, I was recently scouring this site for Heroes fanfics, and I found a few on Zach that were… Not the best. Then I thought, hey, I could do a better job! So, here it is. Zach's Ultimatum. And who here knows anything about his TRUE lineage? Maybe I do…**

 _Transcript #001_

 _Video begins with subject IN84S42LE backing away from the camera. He holds up his hands as if to stabilize the video._

 _Subject: (Voice wavering) Okay, okay. Okay. This – This is a video demonstrating my abilities. Like all the other Evos out there, I'm afraid of being found. (Subject takes a breath) But I'm more afraid of never living, of – of never feeling what it's like. To be special._

 _My name is Zach Andrews, and as far as you know,_ this _is Attempt number one. (Subject closes eyes, places arms at side. Subject exhales deeply, and his feet begin to shimmer. He begins to become invisible starting from the feet up. At 1:22, he is fully invisible, and holds the invisibility until 1:56, when his eyes begin to show. He becomes fully visible again at 2:01)_

 _Subject: Wow. I, uh, I didn't know I could do it for that long. But this is a shout-out to all the other Evos out there. Don't live your life in fear. Stand up for what you believe in, (Voice rises) stand up for your rights, and stand up for the people – the people you love! (Subject shouts, raises arm and fist. Walks toward camera and disables video)_

 _End of video. Subject IN84S42LE unstable. Will be watched._

 _Two Days Ago…_

"Zachary Andrews! Get up here! You've been cooped up in that basement for hours! What does it take to have a nice, CIVILIZED FAMILY DINNER AROUND HERE?" Zach's mother screams. He winces but hibernates his laptop. He runs his hand over his face, running over the short stubble and dark circles under his eyes. He's barely slept these last few days. And it all started with that nuclear attack on New York.

Around him, the basement, once bright and full to the brim with CDs and film, was now dark and desolate. Fading post-it notes hung from the walls, and a giant cork board above his bed was filled with pins and photos. Newspaper clippings, phone calls, criminal records, anything he found about anything that might pertain to Claire, it was here. The room looked like a war zone. But he just couldn't stop thinking about her. Every time he closes his eyes, he would see that last photo of her, taken at that pep rally, or her and the rest of the cheerleaders. All or most of them would be dead now.

But her. Claire can't die. So where is she? There were news reports, of an unnamed person rescuing people from fires, from car crashes. This person would just rush in, and save people. They think it's an Evo.

He thinks it's _the_ Evo.

Of course, it might just be a phaser, or a speedster or a pyromancer. It might even be a teleporter. It's not just Claire that can escape a fire unscathed.

"ZACHARY! YOU GET UP HERE RIGHT NOW!" His mother screeched again. He groaned loudly and threw open the door. He was getting tired of his mother screaming blue murder at him. As he clambered up the stairs, he ran into his little sister, Sally.

"Mom says that dinner is ready, and grandma's here, so 'you'd better not waste any time, since grammy isn't getting any younger,' and she wants to eat with us one last time before she goes to the hospital," Sally quips, doing air quotes in the air. Zach manages a chuckle and ruffles her hair.

"Thanks Sally. I was just coming up," He said, and Sally turned and bounded back up the stairs. He drops the smile almost immediately and punches the wall with his fist. It comes away throbbing, the wall still perfectly fine.

He scowls at his hand and leans against the wall. _I wish I could just be alone,_ he thought. _I wish I was an Evo. Then everyone would be afraid of me, and no one would dare to look at me!_

But he still walked up the stairs to dinner.

When he got there, grandma and her wheelchair were occupying one end of the long table, and Sally was already snuggled up in her lap. Mom and dad were nowhere to be seen; they were probably preparing the food. He pulled out his usual chair, the legs scraping against the wooden floor, but just before he sat down, Sally screamed and pointed at him.

"MOM! DAD! HELP! THERE'S A GHOST!" She cried, curling into a ball. Grandma stared at him with those big eyes, and that's when he realized. They weren't looking _at_ him. They were looking _through_ him.

Just then, his parents rushed out the kitchen, his dad holding a fruit knife in one hand. "What? Sally, what happened? And where's Zach?" His dad prompted.

Sally lifted her head and pointed at Zach, her lips trembling. She wiped at her tear-stained face and hiccupped. "There," She whispered, "The chair moved by itself."

By this point, he was really confused. "Um, guys? I'm sitting right here," He said, waving his hand experimentally.

His mother suddenly screamed and his dad hurled the knife, and it struck Zach right in the shoulder. He yelled and fell to the floor, pulling out the knife. "DAD! What did you do that for?" He yelled at his stricken parents.

"Zachary?" His mother whispered, her voice trembling. "Where did you come from?"

He winced and stood up. "What are you talking about?" He groaned, flipping through the cabinets, trying to find the first aid kit. "I was sitting there the whole time."

His mother shook her head slowly. "No, you weren't. You just… Appeared. When that knife hit you."

Shocked, Zach looked at his hands, forgetting about the pain in his arm. There was a long silence, but it was grandma who spoke first.

"Zach, you're an Evo," She said, precisely and calmly.

His dad turned his gaze towards her. "Mom, how can you say that so calmly? Now our lives are at stake, and all because of him!" He pointed at Zach, still sprawled on the floor.

"No," Grandma said. She paused, and ran a hand through her short red hair. "No. Just because he's an evolved human, doesn't mean you'll all die. I've seen them. I've seen the ones destined to save the world. I've seen what they can do, to help people, and to evade capture. The only reason you're all here today, is because I met one of them." She reached into her pocket and took out a small, blue paper crane. She wheeled her wheelchair over to Zach, and pressed it in his hand. She cupped her hands around his ear, and whispered, "Zach, you will be faced with many, many challenges during the rest of your life, but know this. This crane represents hope and teamwork. And you'll never be alone, because you're one of them. One of _us_." She lifts her head and smiles, and wheels herself back to the table. Zach could only ogle at her, at her last sentence. _One of us._ She's an Evo too?

His father grabbed Zach by the arm that he didn't get hit, and spoke in a low voice. "Zach, you'll never tell anyone about this. Never show that you're different in any way. You got that? You can never let anyone notice."

Zach wrenched his arm away from his dad and glared at him. "I'm a nobody," He spat. "I never get noticed anyway."

He started to go down the stairs to the basement again, and didn't bother listening to the last thing his dad said. He heard yelling upstairs after he was gone, but didn't bother. One sentence though, he couldn't help hear. He tried to shut it out, but it didn't work. It haunted him, haunted his nightmares, haunted his life. He saw it every time he closed his eyes, heard it every time there was a crowd. The sentence, spoken to all the Evos around the world:

"Nothing will ever be the same again."

 _You're right,_ he thought, as he packed his bag. He stuffed in his video camera and a map. _You're right. Nothing ever will be the same again. And neither will I._

The gravel towers. _Because I'll change the world._


End file.
